After a two-year delay, the next book of the Refuge series is out. It can be found on Amazon.US and Amazon.UK, as well as every other Amazon site around the world. I love writing this series. I really thought it would be my breakout series when I wrote the first one, back in 1997. I did the research, I did the maps, I put down a million words of background in a Treepad document, which I still have by the way. It was too long, I wasn’t a good enough writer, and I got scammed by an agent on it. I had already started book two when the scam blew up in my face and I was over $300 poorer. In 2007 I wrote Doppelganger, an attempt to get Refuge into the traditional ranks by writing a tighter story of under 100K words. From the replies I got back, they seemed to miss the point, thinking it was just a Lord of the Rings Wannabe (the references to Earth didn’t seem to make it through their filters). In 2010 I wrote Refuge: The Arrival, going back to the untold origin story, blending magic with technology. The book was too long, so I split it in two. It did well, in fact, most of the independent authors I know would have loved to have the sales it had. Over five thousand for both books 1 and 2. Meanwhile, I had done the same with Exodus: Empires at War, splitting the too long book. Exodus: Book 1 sold over twenty-five thousand copies, book 2 almost as many.

As said, I love this series, and had planned to write twenty books or more in it. It was to build to a world war between the immortals, good and evil. I had stories set through the centuries as the Empire of Free Nations grew, and the Tarakesh Empire on the southern continent expanded as well. There were stories planned of expeditions to other continents, to the wild areas of the world. But then reality set in.

I spend the same amount of time writing a Refuge book as I do working on an Exodus book. If I spend three months on and off on a Refuge book I can plan on making between $4,000 and $6,000 on it. An Exodus book can make from $15,000 to $25,000. For the same amount of time spent. If I was only writing for fun, or as a hobby, I would write the entire Refuge series. I do this for a living, so I need to concentrate on series that give me the greatest return. Exodus: Empires at War and Machine War pay the bills. I have had some dedicated Refuge fans begging me to put out another book, but I never seemed to find the time with all of my other projects. And now I have a traditional project, signed and sold, soon to be delivered. I finally broke down to turn out Book 5. And I will be doing a book 6. Unfortunately, that will probably be the last book of the series. I will be able to wrap up the current storyline, and possible leave some hints for future books that may or may not be written. Only time will tell.

So if you are one of the people who love this series, talk it up in your reading and writing groups, or fantasy gatherings and cons. If the series does better, I might continue it. Otherwise, I need to finish up the Exodus series and get to work on the other ideas I have. I have a post-apocalyptic series planned, one of several alternate histories, and another space opera. A decade of projects. Refuge will have to earn its place in the lineup. Meanwhile, if you are a fan, I hope you enjoy this book. And now for an excerpt:

“They have taken the fort on the close side of the river, my Emperor,” said the messenger, his head almost on the floor, trembling in fear. “The tower on the far side still stands.”

The Emperor lurched to his feet, growling in anger like a rabid animal. He had hoped the fort wouldn’t fall, and the enemy would be delayed in crossing the river. Now he knew that was a false hope. There was no way they could have stopped the enemy, only delay them. They could still delay them with the final tower. It would not be easy to take, but these humans had proven they could do the impossible, so the difficult would happen sooner or later. Probably sooner.

“Leave,” ordered the Emperor. Relief flashed across the face of the messenger, and he staggered up to his feet.

“And send in my Archpriest of Bothar.”

Moments later the summoned man entered, his red robes fresh and spotless, as befitted someone in his position. Still, the man smelled of death, an odor that no amount of bathing could get rid of.

“Are your people ready?”

“We are, my Lord,” said the man in a sibilant voice, his eyes locked on the emperor’s. This was a man who feared no one but the gods he served, and for good reason. He was the most powerful necromancer in the Empire, after the Emperor. And even the Emperor couldn’t do without the power of the man and his minions.

“How many can you summon?”

“I think we can bring forth at least forty, my Lord.”

“So few,” growled the Emperor, his red glowing eyes narrowing,

“They will all be greater demons, my Lord,” said the priest, his eyes still locked on those of the half litch. “And we may be able to bring something even greater.”

The Emperor felt a thrill run through him at the thought. There were very few beings more powerful than a greater demon. Those that were could defeat armies by themselves, or so it was said.

“And can you do something to aid the soldiers at the bridge?”

“I might be able to do something, my Lord. Not enough, I am sure, but something to bleed the enemy some more. Maybe a couple. And they will have a hard time ridding the area of those I do call.”

“Then do it,” said the Emperor, a cold smile playing across his face.

* * *

“Fire,” yelled the gun captain. With a short but loud hiss, the cannon released its projectile, a cloud of steam following it from the muzzle.

The projectile flew toward the door, moments after a shimmering field appeared in front of the hard metal portal. The ball struck the shimmering field and slowed to almost a stop, hitting the portal and bouncing away without leaving a mark.

“It’s one of those damned inertia fields,” said Delgado, looking over at Levine.

“Your weapons have blown through them before,” said the old immortal.

“And they were traveling at a much higher velocity than these things,” said the general, looking over the battery of guns set up in the courtyard. He was glad they had the guns, and he expected big things from them in the future. But they weren’t as good as the one hundred twenty millimeter guns of the tanks, or even the lower velocity howitzers.

“Maybe the mages can help,” said Levine, waving a hand to attract the attention of Drake and the rest, who were sheltering behind the shields of an infantry company in reserve.

Delgado looked over as the mages, the once mentally ill of Earth, came running over, men with shields moving between them and the enemy. He still didn’t trust all of them. The young physicist, Drake, was trustworthy. The woman, Heidle, had almost destroyed the Refuge valley with her tornadoes, at the same time the enemy dragon fleet was threatening them with destruction. She had lost her mind, mad with power. Supposedly she had recovered, and had not slipped into madness again. But once a madwoman, always a madwoman, as far as he was concerned.

“You wanted us over here, General Levine?” asked James as they came up behind the guns.

“We’re having a problem with that field they have up protecting the gate,” said Levine, gesturing toward the tower. “I was hoping that you might be able to do something about it.”

“The problem is, the guns can’t generate enough force to get through the inertia field they’ve put up,” said Delgado, pointing to the tower. “What little they have is absorbed, and what gets through might as well be spitballs.”

“Katherine could probably just send a tornado at them,” said one of the other mages.

“That I will not do,” said the woman, a horrified expression on her face.

No, she won’t, thought Delgado. That kind of display of power could send her tumbling back into the realm of madness. He would as soon cut her throat now than risk his army to one of her rages.

“Perhaps you can impart some momentum to the balls as they leave the cannons,” said Levine. “Do you have that kind of control?”

“I…don’t know,” said Katherine in a soft voice.

“But you can try,” said James, smiling. “I know you have the power. Now, we just need to refine your control. And here is your needed practice.”

Katherine nodded, then looked over at one of the guns. “Get ready to fire. On my command.”

The gun crew nodded and went about their preparations, loading the water into the chamber, then setting the trigger with the glowing gem. As soon as the ball was shoved down the barrel they turned and looked at the weather mage.

Katherine had meanwhile been whispering words under her breath, whether as a spell or simply to focus her thoughts, no one could tell. She opened her eyes, which were now a glowing blue, with hints of the dark white of storm clouds. A wind started to rise, first a gentle breeze, rising to a light gale, then rising until it was shrieking around the guns. Men cowered, holding onto their helms, many closing their eyes.

She gestured at the gun several times, a flash of energy leaving her hands to impact the cannon. The gun fired without the captain having to pull the lanyard. The ball flew from the barrel, kicked into motion by the wind that increased its speed slightly, only to hit the field and die in the air, bouncing from the door without leaving a mark.

“Well, that didn’t go well,” said Delgado, glaring at the door, then looking over at the woman.

“Give her a chance,” said Drake, putting a hand on Katherine’s shoulder. “Try another one.”

Katherine nodded, then moved next to another gun, this one already prepared to fire. She went through the same motions once again, and yet again the gun fired without any need of a crew. The ball barely made it through the barrier to bounce from the door.

“Again,” said James, pointing to the next gun over.

“I’m not accomplishing anything,” she complained, shrugging her shoulders.

“And you won’t if you don’t try,” said James.

Katherine nodded once again, and performed her magic with the third gun. Again the ball barely made it through the field.

“It’s got to be weakening the magic,” said Levine hopefully.

Delgado didn’t see it. So far she had sent three balls into the field, and the door seemed to be laughing at her efforts.

The fourth ball seemed to pick up more of the wind, and hit with a noticeable clang as it bounced from the door, still without noticeable effect.

“She did better that time,” said Levine.

“And it still got us nowhere.”

Drake shot an angry glance at the general, and Delgado felt a shiver run up his spine. The young mage could turn him into a pile of ash in an instant, and his army would not be able to do anything to prevent it. He shook his head at the thought. Drake was not a murderer, nor would he use his fire magic against the army, but it was still frightening to be around people of such power, useful though they were.

The fifth gun went off, and this time a concentrated gust of wind kicked it in the rear, slamming it through the inertia field and actually putting a dent in the door. The sixth gun did even better, and the door shook from the hit.

The first gun had been reloaded. Now archers from the tower were showering the gun positions with arrows, trying to stop the assault. A glowing wall appeared before the guns, and every shaft that entered it turned to ash, to shower slowly to the ground, while their heads dropped as half molten objects. Katherine used the gun, and this time the inertia field dropped like it ran out of power. Delgado thought it probably had, since mages had to put energy into constructs like that, and each assault used up some of that power.

The second gun fired, and a highly concentrated blast of wind caught it and flung it into the valve they had been attacking. With a high shriek of tearing metal one of the hinges ripped away, and the door leaned out on the remaining sagging point of contact.

“Get the men ready to rush the door,” ordered Delgado, looking back at his aide.

Another gun went off, this time battering the door that first flew back into its frame, then fell outward until it was halfway to the ground. The next shot finished the door, which fell to the ground with a clang.

“About time I earned my keep,” said Levine, pulling his sword from his sheath and jumping over the embrasure the guns had been set behind. He trotted toward the tower, the assault company at his back.

That was when a sound like sails booming in the wind came to them, and every eye looked up. Delgado felt his knees weaken as fear rushed through him at the sight of what was dropping from the sky. A huge humanoid creature, at least ten meters tall, with another meter of horns protruding from the head. Red skin, with wings that flared out twenty meters. The general had seen demons before. His tank brigade had run into them when they first got to the planet. They had killed the ones they faced, though he had lost men and vehicles to them. But this thing looked a whole lot deadlier, and his people no longer had one hundred twenty millimeter guns to fire at them.

People started yelling, and men panicked, running furiously for cover. Levine set his feet and looked ready to fight, but the general was not sure that even the immortal could handle this creature.

“You men, stay by your guns. You mages,” he yelled, looking at Drake. “Do what you can, or that thing is going to slaughter us.”

The general wasn’t sure why the enemy had waited this long to deploy this weapon, but he saw his campaign going down in ruin if they couldn’t stop it.

* * *

Commodore Steffan Hauser stared in disbelief as two huge forms dropped from the sky, their flapping wings slowing their progress. One was coming down on each side of the river over the two forts. Neither seemed to have noticed his small flotilla of six galleys, a fact for which he was truly thankful. Each ship had a large ballista aboard, and he might be able to put a heavy shaft through them, with luck. He doubted there was that much luck in the world.

“If only we had some cannon,” said Lieutenant Jeff Bridges, the commanding officer of the vessel.

If only, agreed the commodore in his thoughts. But there weren’t enough of them, and the army got what was available. To the commodore it made sense to arm the galleys, at least a couple of cannons per ship. So far, the ram-equipped galleys had been more than a match for any of the river craft of the Empire, so guns had not been needed, but against a demon?

Screams and yells started to echo over the water, and Hauser crossed himself like the good Catholic he was. His faith might not save his life on this planet, but it would save his soul.

Part two of the giveway is over, and we move on to part 3, the second book of the Refuge series. Part 2 went fairly well, books got out into peoples’ hands, hopefully many of whom had never heard of the Refuge series. Now we move on to book 2 of the series, Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2. Those in the UK can find it here.

Book blurb: The adventure continues. Millions of Earth humans are transported to a world of magic and are in the fight for their lives against an evil Ellala Elf Emperor who sees them as soul energy to extend his life as a litch. But the forces of NATO have brought their weapons along, and it’s tanks against wizards, attack helicopters against dragons, nuclear weapons against elder Gods. The technology of Earth will only work for a short period of time on the new world, due to the laws of Refuge finally overwhelming the beliefs of the newcomers. So, it’s use it or lose it, and the humans, under the command of United States Major General Zachary Taylor, use it with a vengeance. And the humans have brought along allies unlike any seen on Refuge in recent memory. Immortals of great physical power and an immunity to magic. Centenarian Kurt von Mannerheim, a veteran of the slaughter on the Eastern Front of World War Two. Ismael Levine, the Wandering Jew of legend, born prior to Christ. And newcomers, the American Jackie Smith, and the giant Brit Paul Mason-Smythe. Will they be enough to tilt the balance? Or will the humans have traded the nightmare of a nuclear ravaged world for one in which dark Gods prey on their souls? Allies will be gathered, and new enemies made, as technology fights magic in an effort to gain time and space for the forging of a new kingdom.

Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2 will be available for free through October 15th. Then I will be moving back to science fiction, with Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1, my bestselling novel of all time with over 26,000 sales. I will be giving away the first three books of the series. Due to a problem with scheduling (book 3 was switching from one period on KDP select to another), book 3 will be given away in between books 1 and 2. Sorry, but that was the only way I could give away book 3 for 5 days. Otherwise, the most I could have done was four days. Hope that isn’t too confusing.

This weekend I was at the Alabama Phoenix Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. I have only been to two other cons, Altcon in Tallahassee, on the tiny edge of the spectrum, and DragonCon in Atlanta, one of the largest cons in the United States. Alabama Phoenix Festival was on the smallish side, but is held in a facility that has plenty of room to grow. The hotel is the Sheraton in Birmingham. next to the Birmingham Jefferson County Civic Center. The Weston is also attached to the complex, allowing the opportunity to add another venue to the con. The Sheraton itself seemed to large for the crowd that gathered there. I was told that it had been larger in past years, and that this was an off year for this con.

I learned the story behind the con on the first day. Birmingham had been host to another con in the past, but the promoter was a true con, as in con man, and took all of the funds one year. Phoenix Festival is the rebirth of the con from the ashes of the old. There were about ten venues, from the main stage to the meeting rooms where panels were held. The rooms were small, but there were up to eight rooms hosting panels at a time. The panelists, while not big names on the whole, were knowledgeable, and I definitely learned some things on the panels. The con was well organized, and for the most part panels went off when they were supposed to. The display area was well attended and spacious, though I thought it could probably hold quite a bit more in the way of venders. While nowhere near DragonCon as far as costumes went, there were some interesting costumes. Iron Man, War Machine, The Joker, and others. Steampunk was represented there, with the showpiece being a steam Darlek. The Alabama Ghostbusters were there, Nick Fury was providing security, and I saw the Phantom and Wonder Woman on the premises. Panels covered Star Trek, Self Publishing, and Comic Books among other topics.

The most important thing for me is that I met a lot of people, some that I only knew from Facebook. Bobby Nash for one, James Palmer for another. I also saw Van Allen Plexico, who I had met at DragonCon last year, and will see again there this year. Networking was important, and I can see where some of these contacts might help me in the future, while I can possibly do the same for some of them. I think I will attend the festival again next year, unless something else comes up. I would like to see Phoenix grow through the years and become a mid-range con with ten thousand people attending. I was hoping to be able to sit on a panel at DragonCon this year, without claiming guest status. I may have to start a little smaller, applying for guest status at a con like the Alabama Phoenix Festival. I hope to see some more of you there.

As stated in the last post, I wrote Refuge: Doppleganger trying to stick to the follow a few characters format, unlike the original Refuge novels. And again it was rejected, with comments about how I was just rehashing the same old stuff that had been done before. Look, I had steam trains, steam pistols, and airborne infantry, as well as squadrons of dragons. I think I could almost pass it off as a steampunk, novel, maybe. It was anything but rehashing the same old stuff. But I came out of that experience knowing that the only way I was going to get this idea across was to go back to the beginning. So I came up with the idea of telling the story of how humans came from our world to this one. And since Kurt was an immortal character, there from the beginning, he would be the main character of the novel. Of course, I ended up putting in a lot of characters, again churning out a Harry Turtledove kind of book. In 2009 I started on the worldbuilding for Exodus, and in 2010, while working for the State of Florida full time, I completed a two hundred thousand word novel each in the Exodus and Refuge Universes. I also wrote Daemon, Afterlife, and We Are Death Come For You that year. The last three novels were to be for submission to agents and publishers, but Exodus and Refuge were written to either be self published, or sold after I had been traditionally published. I knew at two hundred thousand words both were too long for first novels. When I went the self publishing route in 2012 I decided that both books would be published independently, but still felt they were both too long. The solution? Split them into two novels each, which required putting in a section at the end the first installments of both novels to make up a climatic end. This caused some people to think that the first installments, especially Exodus, were merely extended introductions, and there might be some truth to that assertion.

I put out both Exodus and Refuge out in 2012. Late summer for Refuge, fall for Exodus. I thought Exodus was a good story, one that reminded me of the old time space opera I loved, but with the technical detail I wished they had. I hoped it might do well, but didn’t really expect much of it. Refuge though. Refuge was the book I had been developing for over a decade. It was, in my opinion, the more imaginative of the two. I thought it was more of a risk, since it crossed genres, with elements of fantasy and military techno thriller. I was sure it was going to be the series that would allow me to become a full time writer. It sold well enough, and people snapped the first book up when I offered it was a freebee. And then Exodus took off, much to my surprise, before I could even do a promotion. Since those first two books of each series I have put out three more Exodus books, and only one new Refuge. I thought maybe people who liked one would like the other, since I love all the fantastic genres, science fiction, fantasy, even horror. Turns out that some people love scifi and can’t stand fantasy. I have one fan who loves Refuge, thinks its one of the greatest series ever, but hates Exodus, which she calls techno geek.

I still have hopes for Refuge, that eventually enough people will read it and love it. Right now Exodus is still my bread and butter. Exodus has sold 55,000+ copies over five volumes, while Reufge had sold just over 10,000+ in four volumes. This year I will try and put out three more Exodus books, and one from Refuge. I feel that I have an obligation to at least conclude the first part of that series for the people who read it. I really hate it when authors give up on a series that I love, just because not enough other people do. I know in the economics of the business that is the proper thing to do. It is not what I will do. Refuge will get at least five books before I put it to rest, not including Doppleganger. Then I will put the series to rest for a time, always hoping to revisit it.

In other news, Exodus 6 is written and through the first revision. I am planning on releasing the novel on April 27th, two days after I put book 1, with a new cover, on promotion for five free days. Anyone who has not read Exodus, this is your chance to get the first book for free. And two days later the series will grow to six, which means a lot of reading ahead.

The last two months I have put up short stories set in the Exodus Universe for fans who can’t wait for the next book. The first, put out at the end of June on the Website, was the story of how Cornelius Walborski came to Sestius, titled A New Life. At 10,000 words it was a long short. At the end of July I added a story about Lucille Yu and The Other Universe Project titled What’s Eating You. I have blogged and tweeted both of the release dates, but really have no idea how many people have visited those pages. I will be putting up another before going to DragonCon. The stories can be read on the web page itself, or downloaded in Kindle, Word or PDF format. The plan is to keep putting them up every month, until there are enough of them to put in a volume to publish.
Today, while attending a committee meeting for the Tallahassee Writer’s Conference, the idea was brought up about putting short stories on blogs as a way of rewarding readers. I thought that was a great idea, and one that has the potential to grow a blog. So starting Monday I will be blogging my short stories, with links to the website. Since they are long, I will probably put each story out in three or four segments, published on different days, much like the old serials that used to play before the movies. For those who want to read them on the blog, they can get the entire story over a two week period. For those who can’t wait, they can go to the website and pick up the whole story. I will also be doing this for some of my other series, like Refuge and The Deep Dark Well, in the hopes of attracting more people to my work. I may also put the first twenty thousand words of novels out, giving people the chance to see far enough into the book so they can determine if its something they want to read. This is another experiment, something being an independent author allows me to do. So next blog out will be the first one in this experiment. Hope you will take the time to read it.

Aura is my fantasy novel about three siblings, fraternal triplets, trying to survive in a land of evil. The book has sold 136 copies to date, despite a 4.8 average over four reviews, and what one reviewer said, “This has got to be one of the best reads available in this genre.” So as an experiment I commissioned a new cover for the book on the advice of a fan who owns a bookstore.

I am very impressed with this cover, which is now live on Amazon both for ebooks and paperback. It was created by friend and fellow Tallahassee Writer’s Association member Elizabeth Babski, who runs Babski Creative Studios. She worked very closely with me to get just what I wanted, from the faces of the triplets, to the pyramid and dragon. I think that she did a great job, and soon I will start to promote the book with this new cover and see what happens. She also designed a book themed logo.

I am seriously thinking of having her design the cover for the Exodus 4 book I will be putting out in the Fall. For those looking for a unique and professionally designed cover, I can think of no better place to go.

So I have shown in the last three installments on this topic that we will probably come up with new and inventive ways to kill each other on the battlefield of the future, and that they will probably be a little bit different that what is commonly portrayed in science fiction. Along with this lethality will have to come better protection for those using the weapons. Otherwise, the life expectancy of an infantryman will measure in the minutes, if not seconds. Now, I will diverge for a moment to talk just a moment about the history of battlefield armor. One of the reasons the Spartans held out so long against the Persians at Thermopylae was better armor. Breast and back plates of bronze, helmets, greaves, and big round shields versus the wicker armor of the Immortals. The Romans also wore better armor than most of their opponents. Armor achieved is culmination with the armored knight. The plate armor offered great protection, even though it eventually got to the point where the general effectiveness of the cavalryman was degraded. Then armor went by the wayside, though it was still effective, at least the heavier grades, at stopping bullets. It was now the time of mass conscripted armies, carrying easy to master firearms. And so it went for centuries. In World War 1 the helmet made its reappearance to protect the head against that greatest of battlefield killers, artillery. I had read a study at one time that body armor was being considered in that war, and would have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths, if not the harder to prevent woundings. Now we come to the present, where US Infantrymen wear Kevlar armor with ballistic plates that can stop most small arms rounds. The men and women are still vulnerable on their arms, legs and lower torso. The major problem with the current armor is weight, always a precious commodity in infantry warfare. An infantryman can only carry so much, and weight of armor must result in something else being left behind. Ammo is another prime consideration, and there are very few soldiers who will not pack as much ammo as they can carry, so something else must be left behind. Heavy weight means slow movement. The solution seems to be to make the weight carry itself. And so the Army is experimenting with exoskeletons that can carry the soldier and all he packs. The main problem with exos is the power supply, they use a lot of energy, and rapidly exhaust batteries. That is something I am sure will be solved, eventually.
The future battlefield will be a hell of flying projectiles, light beams, high energy explosives, and radiation. A helmet and Kevlar vest just won’t cut it. Armor will have to evolve to cover the entire trooper, and move him at speeds at least as fast as a lightly burdened man, if not faster. Robert Heinlein introduced the solution to the problem, at least in fiction, with the powered armor of his seminal work, Starship Troopers. In its day it was groundbreaking, and has since become a common trope of science fiction. Almost everyone equips their soldiers of the future with powered armor. Why? Because it just makes sense. Even a genetically engineered soldier will die quickly in the hell of the future battlefield without protection. Khan would be dying of radiation poisoning soon after entering the future battlefield, if he wasn’t first incinerated by a swarm of particle beams. So they will have heavy armor, and that armor will enhance their strength to allow them to have the ability to carry it. From there it just makes sense that the armor would have many times the strength needed to just carry it, allowing the soldier of the future to carry more gear. Flying, or at least hovering over the ground, increasing speed of movement, is also a given, whether it be from rocket propulsion or something yet to be developed but much more advanced. Of course flying around is not always a good idea either. Hovering twenty feet off the ground would probably make the soldier the most noticeable target around, but not for long. What about force fields? If such a thing can be developed, and beside the electromagnetic fields we already know about it does not seem likely, given our current stare of knowledge, there would still be limitations. Things will still penetrate and burn through. Armor and force field combinations would be the best, if such could be developed. And of course the suits would have other features to enhance the survivability of their wearers. Built in medical systems, sensor suites, deployable scout robots, as well as the nanotech within the body of each infantryman. They could still be killed. Even nanotech won’t save a man with a quarter meter wide burn hole through the center of his chest. There may be exceptions to that as well, which I will discuss in a future blog entry. Invisibility fields could also prove useful, maybe not for total concealment, since sensors would surely be developed to pierce them, but as a way to reduce enemy acquisition of targets. Anything that buys the infantry precious seconds to maneuver through the open without being destroyed would be useful.
And of course as a result of this protection, weapons will get better at destroying armor. That’s been the game of warfare since the beginning of recorded history. An example of this is tank warfare, in which the infantry acquires new weapons to destroy tanks, and new tanks are developed with heavier armor to defeat those antitank weapons. No armor would long be impervious to enemy weaponry, unless that enemy were complete idiots. It probably wouldn’t protect a soldier from a close burst nuclear, antimatter or kinetic weapons dropped from space, but proper tactics would ensure that casualties were at a minimum. It’s all about beating the odds and having enough left to fight back.
I use powered armor in all of my far future military scifi. Some would ask why? Isn’t that just copying someone elses idea? To me that would be the same as not using swords in Sword and Sorcery, or tanks in military stories. It just makes sense that such protection would be developed. The one name for soldiers on a future battlefield without good protection is Dead. Near misses by some future weapons would kill such soldiers, while an armored soldier would need a direct if not sustained hit (and with some weapons sustained would be the word). In some situations a light stealth body suit would serve, infiltration missions and raids for example. In others systems with no electronic signatures might be best. But putting lightly or unarmored troops up against soldiers in heavy battle armor would be as wasteful as sending a battalion of highly trained Airborne Rangers into a frontal assault against an entrenched mechanized infantry. Or as George Patton said when watching Afrika Corps soldiers walking into an artillery barrage, that’s just a waste of good infantry.